THOMAS – Study in Hyogo Japan – from Germany

2024-04-23

Meet Thomas, a German student passionate about Japanese language and culture, studying at Lexis Japan in Kobe. Despite initial struggles with learning Japanese, Thomas found joy in exploring Japan’s diverse cuisine and appreciating the kindness of its people. Dreaming of a future in Japan, he embraces the challenge of language learning.

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Interview – Story in Japan

Q&A

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?

Germany

WHY DO YOU STUDY JAPANESE?

At first I learned Japanese because I like Anime, but I gave up really quickly. I started to learn Japanese again in early 2019 because I came to Japan for the first time in October 2019. I thought it could be useful to know some simple phrases and Kanji. I liked it so much that I immediately planned another trip to Japan. This time I wanted to stay longer so that I could experience the day-to-day life in Japan. The best way to do that was to go to a Japanese language school to study Japanese and do a Homestay at a Japanese family. This year I came back once more to keep studying Japanese in the hope that I can find a job and life in Japan afterwards.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT YOUR SCHOOL?

Study at「Lexis Japan」in Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture.

The Staff is really nice and helpful. The school has nice afternoon activities. There are a lot of good restaurants near the school and it’s close to the train station.

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WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO STAY IN THIS CITY?

I lived in Uozaki. I didn’t decide to live there, I was simply put there by the company that managed the Homestay. However, I really fell in love with the city. It’s a nice and quiet place. Since there wasn’t much to do in Uozaki itself, I would often take a train to Kobe or Osaka. Since even the rapid express trains stopped at Uozaki station (Hanshin line) the journey was always really quick. The people in Uozaki, especially my host family were all really nice and even let me participate in a local 地車祭り.

WHERE IS YOUR LOCAL RECOMMENDATION IN THIS CITY?

The 横屋地車祭り during the golden week. In Osaka, I liked to go to Dotonbori. There are a lot of good restaurants and a lot of different places to buy souvenirs. Osaka Castle is also really beautiful, especially when the plum trees blossom, which is right before the cherry blossom season.

WHAT DO YOU ENJOY THE MOST WHILE LIVING IN JAPAN?

All the different foods in Japan. There is a lot of different food to try out and I’m sure that everyone finds something they really like. I also like how respectful, nice, and helpful Japanese people are.

WHAT WAS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE BEING IN JAPAN?

For me, it’s the language barrier. I’m a shy person and I don’t want to trouble other people, so going to a new restaurant where I don’t know how to order food, but the menu is in English, or if the staff can speak English. If I have to somehow order food in Japanese, it leads to me not entering a restaurant in the first place quite a few times, especially if I am alone.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN JAPAN AND YOUR COUNTRY?

The biggest difference is the people. In Japan, everybody is respectful and minds the people around them. In Europe, every only cares about themselves. I also think that Japanese people are obeying the law and its rules more than people in Europe.

DID YOU EXPERIENCE ANY CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE AND FUTURE PROSPECTS?

Yes. I have always been an introverted person. I’m used to spending most of my time at home playing games online. That completely changed however once I was in Japan. In order to get the most out of my time I went to a lot of tourist spots. In order to speak and practice the Japanese language as much as possible, I went to bars and restaurants and tried to speak to Japanese people as much as possible.

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?

After I finish studying Japanese, I want to live in Japan. I hope I can find a good job so I can make enough money to start a family and maybe buy a nice house for us.

MESSAGE TO OUR FRIENDS WHO WILL GO TO JAPAN.

If you really want to learn Japanese, do it. We all only live once and it is better to learn something new while you are still young. And even if you end up not using the Japanese language in your future, the time you spend in Japan will be an adventure that you will never forget.